Health workers demand equal pay with doctors

There are strong indications that a fresh crisis might be looming in the health sector between doctors and the Joint Health Sector Union members over salary parity, The Punch reports.

In what is evidently a rivalry between the doctors and JOHESU, the Nigerian Medical Association said the demand for the upward review of the Consolidated Health Salary Structure, which is the salary structure for health workers including pharmacy, medical laboratory science, among others, would lead to negative consequences on the already fragile health sector.

JOHESU is the umbrella body of health workers’ unions and associations, including the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria, the Nigeria Union of Allied Health Professionals, the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions, the Senior Staff Association of Universities Teaching Hospitals, Research Institutes and Associated Institutions, and the Assembly of Healthcare Professionals.

Punch gathered that JOHESU had requested the adjustment of the CONHESS as was done to Consolidated Medical Salary Structure, which is the salary structure for medical and dental doctors since 2014.

However, in response to JOHESU’s request, the Federal Ministry of Health in a letter dated April 3, 2023, said there was an existing relativity between the CONMESS and CONHESS salary structure since 2014.

The letter signed by the Director of Hospital Services, Dr Salma Anas, was titled, ‘Re: Report of the technical sub-committee on the inter-ministerial committee on adjustment of CONHESS as was done to CONMESS in 2014’.

The letter, which was obtained by Punch, read in part, “There is an existing relativity between the CONMESS and CONHESS since 2014, therefore adjusting the CONHESS using either of the two options proposed by the committee will erode the already established/existing relativity and restore pay parity between both salary structure and will definitely lead to more industrial disharmony in the health sector.

“The financial implication of adjusting the CONHESS using option one (CONHESS 11-15) is put at N42,818,704,671.00 per annum. The financial implication of adjusting the CONHESS using option two (CONHESS 01-15) is put at N49,722,269,547.00) per annum.

“In view of the foregoing, the FMoH (Federal Ministry of Health) recommends that due to the prevailing economic realities and the propensity of the proposed options to create industrial disharmony in the health sector, adjusting the CONHESS has been put on hold pending a favourable economic outlook and the extraction of the commitment of NSIWC that adjusting the CONHESS using any of the options prepared by the committee will not erode the existing relativity between CONMESS and CONHESS.”

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